Minnesota Power Shares Vision for 100% Carbon-Free Future by 2050

DULUTH, Minn. – Minnesota Power, an ALLETE company, announced in a Tuesday press release its vision to provide 100 percent carbon-free energy to its customers by 2050.

The company says the vision is a continuation of its recent achievement of providing 50 percent renewable energy to its customers and its commitment to climate, customers, and communities.

The company will be submitting its Integrated Resource Plan to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on February 1 which will outline its steps for reaching its clean-energy goal.

These steps include:

• Adding an estimated 400 new megawatts of wind and solar energy
• Retiring Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 by 2030. (335MWs)
• Transforming Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center Unit 4 (468MWs) to be coal-free by 2035
• Investing in a modern, flexible transmission and distribution grid.

“We are proud to be the first Minnesota utility to provide 50 percent renewable energy, but as we said when we reached this exciting milestone in December, our transformation to a sustainable energy future is not yet complete,” said ALLETE President and CEO Bethany Owen. “As a clean energy leader, we are meeting the challenge of climate change with a reliable energy supply while keeping costs affordable for customers in this region.”

Minnesota Power says its target is to achieve an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 which will meet the state’s goal for greenhouse gas reductions 15 years ahead of schedule.

Once the IRP is submitted the MPUC will begin a regulatory process that provides for input from customers, organizations, and communities.

A final decision on the IRP is expected later in 2021.